Janet Turner”s legacy has come a long way since 1959 when she became an art instructor at Chico State College.

And that legacy can only grow as the Janet Turner Print Museum, which occupies a rather remote home on the Chico State University campus, inhabits the roomier, more prominent Chico Museum downtown for the fall and spring semesters.

Aside from the Chinese Temple exhibit that greets visitors at Chico Museum”s entrance, the building”s two spacious exhibit halls — each roomier than Turner Gallery”s entire Laxson Auditorium space —?are now devoted to the Turner collection.

“Due South: Prints from Mexico and South America” is the current show, which includes 30 intaglio, lithograph, etching, calligraphy, aquatint, embossing, airbrush and mezzotint prints. They date from 1944 to 1997 and are mostly from Mexico, Central America and South America.

The move comes courtesy of the Far West Heritage Association as it takes time to develop a long-term master plan for its two properties, Chico Museum and the historic Patrick Ranch.

“It”s a fabulous collaboration,” said Janet Turner Print Museum President JoAnn Morgan. “Our organizations are working together rather than competing.”

“I have been associated with the Janet Turner Print Museum my entire time as a student at CSU Chico, as an intern and work-study assistant,” said Britting, who earned her bachelor”s degree in fine arts in May. “I have had the privilege of seeing and working with this hidden treasure. I am personally excited about having this incredible resource available to the public.”

Chico State President Paul Zingg will join museum leaders in a news conference officially marking the museum cooperative at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Chico Museum, on the corner of Second and Salem streets

Turner, who died in 1988 at the age of 74, was one of the country”s leading printmaking experts. She exhibited her art and won awards all over the world, not only helping popularize printmaking as a fine art form but collecting others” works for four decades. The Turner collection boasts a diverse body of work typically found only at a few big-city museums.

Printmaking appealed to Turner — who personally gravitated to creating wildlife scenes — for several reasons. Once a plate or screen was made, the print process allowed her to easily create multiple copies for showing, sharing and handling. She began collecting prints to use in her classes to provide samples for teaching.

The on-campus collection and museum created in her name in 1981 —?the year she retired —?houses more than 3,000 fine art prints that span six centuries and 40 countries and includes works by Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali.

But the Turner museum”s physical location, tucked in a room on the second floor of Laxson Auditorium, is rather removed and there”s a perception it”s not publicly accessible. The on-campus Turner Museum remains open to the public from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and will have its own exhibits throughout the year.

Chico Museum, which sits at a high-visibility location, should generate increased foot traffic. That”s fine with the keepers of the collection and would have been fine with Turner, who preferred to make art available to everyone.

“We wanted to make it accessible in a more public place so more people can come,” said Morgan. “It”s close to the university so the students can take advantage as well as the public.”

Hopes to relocate the Turner Museum to the spacious, old Chico Municipal Building a couple of years ago, in what would have been a cooperative effort with Chico Area Recreation and Park District and Friends of the Arts, fell through when CARD pulled out of the deal and the city decided to use the old city hall for future expansion. The space is being refurbished now for a police substation.

But Turner officials are pleased at having Chico Museum at their disposal, even temporarily.

Zingg will again be on hand at Chico Museum Oct. 4 to award the first-ever Turner Prize for a local entity (individual or organization) that has worked for the excellence in the arts.

Buzz Editor Alan Sheckter can be reached at buzz@chicoer.com or 896-7771.